


Mother's Day

by Neon_Zephyr



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic)
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 18:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4191222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neon_Zephyr/pseuds/Neon_Zephyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dulcy journeys to visit her mother, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Prompt fill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mother's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for MightyRay. (One last upload today)
> 
> The only direct change to canon here is that Dulcy's mother, Sabina, is not captured or roboticized or otherwise missing (instead living in a secret location that only a few know of). Otherwise, it should generally fit any form of canon as it exists at time of writing.
> 
> I chose this prompt because I actually rather like Dulcy (unlike the majority of the fandom).

The young dragon finished placing the last wrapped package in the basket. She tied the container shut using several bright pink handkerchiefs, checking that they were secure before picking it up by said cloth. She took a few tentative steps, making sure that the bow would hold, before lifting herself off the ground with a few, powerful beats of her wings.

She hovered in place for a few moments, before fluttering over to the door she’d built into the mouth of the cave she’d made into her home. She landed to open it, ducking her head briefly to step outside.

She looked up at the sky.

“I thought that Rotor said that that storm wasn’t supposed to come through until at least tomorrow,” Dulcy muttered to herself.

Not that it mattered. She needed to go, today, and she needed to go now.

She checked that her own door was locked, before leaping upwards and taking off into the sky.

Normally, she would fly a bit more east and a little less north—towards Knothole and Freedom HQ—but today she had a different target in mind.

Perhaps she would be able to beat the building storm there.

She took a swift dip, before flying upwards, towards the still-calm clouds above her.

Breaking through the wet air of the clouds, she leveled her flight path. The air up here was cold, as always, but the sun beating down on her back warmed her scales enough that she hardly noticed.

Dulcy tightened her grip on the basket in her hands.

Convinced that it wasn’t going to spill—she’d checked the wraps enough—she allowed herself to make a few spins and barrel rolls. The young dragon giggled to herself with the rush each move gave her.

At one point, she arched upwards and into a backflip, exhaling a short burst of flame at the same time.

“Who-oa!” She nearly lost her balance, swaying slightly as she beat her wings rapidly to regain control.

Dulcy double-checked the basket, making sure that she still had a firm hold on its handle, and that its contents weren’t in any danger of spilling.

“I need to be more careful,” she scolded herself.

She flew without ceremony or flair for a few minutes, until she saw something dark just under the cloud cover ahead.

_That can’t be good_. She lowered herself to be just above the clouds, ready to duck out of sight if need be.

After another couple moments, three nearly identical shapes emerged from the clouds.

_Buzzbombers!_ Dulcy recognized the blue-and-black wasp-style Badniks ahead. _They must be trying to search for Knothole!_

Dulcy flew down into the cloud, so that only enough of her head—and, every second or so, about half of her wingspan—was visible over the cover. She gradually increased her speed, until she was almost directly behind the Badniks. She gripped the handle of her basket even tighter, her hands curled in solid fists.

Dulcy let out the loudest, deepest roar she could summon, as she launched herself upward and forward into the small Badnik group. Before the Buzzbombers could even process the attack, she had already smashed her tail into one, breaking it nearly in perfect halves. The shattered parts fell back through the cloud cover.

The remaining two Badniks turned to face Dulcy. They both started to emit a siren.

“Priority one: Freedom Fighter!” They both squawked in mechanical voices.

Dulcy gave a hard backbeat with her wings, tossing herself backwards in the air to give her more distance from the robots.

_Th-that’s right,_ Dulcy felt the first chills of panic start to creep up her spine. _I’m a Freedom Fighter. I’m not some little hatchling any-anymore. I’m… I’m a dragon!_

Before she could think further, one of the Badniks dove into the clouds, the other choosing to rush her directly.

Dulcy had time to smile, just before she unleashed a burst of fire on the charging Buzzbomber.

The Badnik emitted high-pitched alarms and squeaking sounds as the intense heat melted its exterior shell—then its internal mechanics. The wings tried to beat, as the onslaught ended, but the sheets of metal were too soft to hold or create enough wing to stay aloft. It followed the first Badnik in plummeting through the clouds to the ground.

Dulcy let out a short laugh.

The third Buzzbomber erupted up through the clouds, nearly colliding with Dulcy from beneath the dragon. She beat her wings furiously to throw herself backwards in time, losing her sense of balance in the process, as well as her grip on—

“No!” She barked, watching as the basket slipped from her hands and down through the clouds.

She turned to the Buzzbomber, glaring at the Badnik. It flew at her, stinger-first.

She grabbed the Badnik by said stinger with one hand. She pulled it harmlessly to the side, grabbing its neck with her other hand.

She let out a roar as she pulled on the robotic wasp’s frame. The metal creaked and groaned for a moment, before she managed to rip the head segment clear off of the main body, tearing even the internal wires into separate pieces. She threw the now non-functional bits of Badnik down towards the surface.

Instantly, panic seized Dulcy’s chest.

_The basket!_

She dove down through the clouds again, dropping as fast as she could.

_Where is it?_

She didn’t even notice the slowly building wind or how it was beginning to darken under the clouds. Or how the first drops of rain had already began to fall to the cooling earth below. Or how she was shooting like a bullet straight for the ground below.

All she saw—all she cared about in that moment—was the small, pink dot that was—thankfully—growing a little larger into her view.

_C’mon…!_ She strained, reaching out for it, praying that she got it before they both hit the—

_Gotcha!_ One hand was able to close firmly around the handle again.

She beat her wings furiously, angling her body into a banking turn as she struggled to cease her plummeting and regain altitude. After a couple frantic moments, she was able to twist her body into a banking turn and gain some lift again. She felt the cool touch of the tall grass against her feet at the nadir of the turn.

After recovering, Dulcy hovered more or less in place for a few, long minutes. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her senses, which were still burning and buzzing with the adrenaline coursing through her from her panic.

She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes for a split second.

Dulcy gave the basket a cursory pat with one hand. She couldn’t tell for sure if it was truly all right without landing—and she didn’t have time for that—but everything seemed to be okay under the taut pink cloth.

She gave another sigh.

_That was_ way _too close_.

Dulcy looked up at the darkening sky, the cloud cover gradually turning from a light silver to a deep iron grey. The young dragon finally acknowledge the light drops of rain that joined the growing winds in heralding the coming storm. A few powerful wingbeats, and she was on her way back up to the safety of the sky above it all.

“Hey there!” A voice cut her off partway.

Dulcy stopped, looking down at the small group of dark figures that were flying up to meet her.

_Magpies_! Dulcy realized. _How far off-course did those Buzzbombers set me?_

There were five magpies in total, each of them wearing a hodge-podge of various clothes and equipment, every one of them wearing numerous bags and packs on straps all over their bodies. The one that had spoken was wearing a bright blue bandanna on his forehead and had a long, jagged mark on his beak that ended in a crack on the edge of it.

“Hey,” the apparent leader spoke up again. “Thanks ever so much fer taking care a’ those blasted bee-bots fer us! Hard ta forage fer food ‘n goods when Robotnik’s goons are flyin’ ‘bout!”

“D-don’t mention it,” Dulcy stammered. Her scales itched under their gaze. She noticed how their eyes kept wandering towards her basket. She tightened her grip on it with both hands and started to regain altitude.

“’Ey, now!” The leader called as they followed after her. “That ain’t very polite! Ain’t ya know where ya are?” The magpie drummed his fingers on the handle of the short, bladed weapon strapped to the belt at his hip. “Yer in Magpie Territory. We’re the ones in charge ‘round here. And, help or not, ya ain’t getting through our skies without payin’ a toll.” He looked at the basket. “I’d say that’d cover it right nice-like. We’ll even escort ya ta the edge of our land, just ta say thanks fer takin’ out those ’bots!”

“I can’t give you this,” Dulcy said. “And, I don’t need an escort, thank you.” She started to fly upwards again—a dragon could fly and breathe in much higher altitudes than most other Mobians. “H-have a good—!”

“We ain’t givin’ ya a choice!” The magpies all drew their various blades. Before Dulcy could react, they charged her.

Unlike the Buzzbombers before, Dulcy had no desire to fight these magpies—not only were they organic and _alive_ , no matter how messed up, they also outnumbered her. She beat her wings as hard and fast as she could, trying to both fly straight up and to use the residual gusts to blow them away. Once there was enough distance that it wouldn’t necessarily harm them, Dulcy let out a burst of flame in their general direction, hoping that it would deter them, at least long enough for her to escape through the clouds.

She didn’t look back, flying straight up, true as an arrow, piercing through the cloud cover nose-first. In the middle of the soaking semi-darkness, she felt something push her to the side. She attempted to regain her positioning and balance using her opposite wing, only to find herself being knocked over into a forced barrel roll.

Dulcy realized, with a lurching in her gut, what was happening; the storm was picking up and the winds were already coursing through the clouds. She was too young, too inexperienced, to keep her balance and senses in the onslaught. It was all she could do to keep from dropping out of the sky—or losing her grip on the basket—and even that wasn’t going to last forever. If she didn’t get out, now, she was going to end up plummeting to the ground without any chance of recovery.

A sharp pain sliced against her shoulder. Dulcy yelped in pain, the sound reverberating against the wind.  Her wings stopped for a split second and her internal organs heaved as she dropped a few yards before her pounding wings were able to stop her descent. She forced one eye open.

Amidst the torrent of water and swirling dark grey of the clouds, Dulcy could see streaks of red, just before they dropped to join the rain below.

_What?_ Dulcy’s lungs froze. _How… did the wind pick up something?_ But, for that to happen, wouldn’t that suggest that a tornado was forming below?

A black and white blur zoomed past, barely missing her with its silvery flash.

_The magpies!_ They were able to fly in this? But how? That didn’t make sense! Only dragons were skilled enough fliers to navigate the strong winds of a storm cloud like this!

Either way, it was a moot point to Dulcy, as—on top of everything else—she had to avoid the magpies and their blades as they zoomed around her—and with an injured shoulder, to boot.

“Yer gonna regret messin’ with me ‘n my mates, ya overgrown lizard!” The magpie leader’s voice boomed around her, somehow audible above the wind. “Get ‘er, boys! We’re eatin’ dragon t’night!”

Were it not for the storm, Dulcy might have imagined what sarcastic responses her friends would have made to that—especially Sonic’s. As it was, she couldn’t even concentrate enough to keep steady against the winds, as the continued to blow against her, rolling her side to side—and gradually downward. She attempted to inhale, to get enough air to blow a strong enough gust to force herself out of the clouds—in either direction, it didn’t matter now—but the winds were too strong. She could barely breathe against the storm, now.

Desperate, Dulcy let out the loudest roar she could. Afterwards, she felt her lungs freeze again, and her wings lock against her back. Her grip loosened and the basket slipped from her fingers.

_No!_

She began to plummet downward.

Just as her vision began to swirl to black, she heard a loud sound—almost like thunder—followed by a flash of heat and the sounds of screaming.

She suddenly stopped falling, something warm and rough against her back.

“Huh?” She blinked, sight recovering. The darkness of the storm blurred past her, until the daylight above it suddenly burst back into existence. She was… above the clouds? But… her wings weren’t moving? “How…?” She breathed slowly. “What?”

“Not what, dear,” a loud but gentle voice spoke nearby, “who. Or, is it whom? I can never quite recall.”

“Who…are you?” Dulcy’s vision steadied enough for her to look at her savior.

She was in the hands of an incredibly large—even compared to Dulcy—and long-bodied dragon with fading red-bronze scales and an immense set of antlers instead of horns. Well, one of them was snapped not too far from the base, but the other was still large enough.

“A dragon!” Dulcy breathed. “Another dragon!”

“Yes,” she chuckled softly, “I do apologize for not acting sooner. It’s hard to get these ol’ wings to lift much anymore, and they don’t get much exercise, living underground. But, I couldn’t just let those blasted featherbags hurt you.” She cleared her throat. “Now then, why don’t you tell ol’ Rusty what brings you out to this neck of the woods?”

“It…” Dulcy started. “I was flying out to visit my mother.”

“Your mother?” Rusty echoed. “My, there are even more of us left? Who, pray tell, is your mother, child?”

“S-Sabina,” Dulcy hiccupped once. The excitement seemed to have been a bit much; she was going to need a little longer to recover.

“Sabina!” Rusty echoed again. “I think I _do_ know her! I might even remember where she’s hiding out, ever since that metal-obsessed tyrant started hunting us like vermin. You just get some rest, child, and I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

“I…I was bringing her—the basket!” Dulcy realized. Pain jolted through her chest. “I—I dropped the basket! No!” It was too late to save it, now. She buried her face in her hands, ignoring the slight pain in her shoulder.

“Basket?” Rusty asked mid-wingbeat. “Do you mean this basket?” She motioned to her back claws. One of her feet was firmly gripping the handle of a basket between its talons. A basket that was wrapped in pink. “I caught it just before I sent those magpies packing. Didn’t want them to get their ungrateful, thieving claws on it, after all.”

“My basket!” Dulcy exclaimed joyfully. “You rescued the basket I was taking to my mother! Thank you!”

“Think nothing of it, dear.” Rusty gave another chuckle. “Now, hold tight, child. I need to descent here.” The older dragon firmed her hold on the younger one, and Dulcy gripped the protective claws in both hands.

She felt the weightlessness in her stomach as they dropped through the clouds—fortunately, the storm had not yet reached this area—and to the surface below. Rusty skillfully slowed their descent before they hit the ground, touching the grass with her one free limb. She gently released the basket, then Dulcy, who had never been so grateful to be back on solid ground.

“Thank you again!” Dulcy picked up the basket. “Would you like to come with me? I’m sure Mother wouldn’t mind another guest for—!”

“No, no, dear,” Rusty interrupted her. “Not today, I don’t think. Perhaps another time. Today, it is enough that you are safe. Now,” she started to fly back up into the sky, “I must go make sure that those magpies are truly sent scurryin’ to new lands. Do give your mother my regards, though.” The long, aging dragon then took off without another word, vanishing into the clouds.

Dulcy blinked for a moment, watching, before she turned to the nearby cliff at the edge of the mountain range. She flew up—her wings a little sore, but still functioning—to the cave entrance.

“Mother!” She called out as she entered the hidden rooms inside. “It’s me, Mother!”

“Dulcy!” Sabina called out as the brown dragon reached and embraced her daughter in a warm hug. “I wasn’t expecting you today, with that storm and everything.”

“We’re dragons, Mother,” Dulcy insisted. “It’ll take a lot more than storms to keep us apart. Oh!” Dulcy remembered, giving her the basket. “I brought this for you!”

“Thank you, dear,” Sabina took it, setting it down and removing the handkerchief. Before she even looked inside, she reached for Dulcy’s shoulder and began to wrap the cloth around the wound. “Now,” she said, pressing a gentle kiss against her daughter’s forehead, “why don’t you tell me about your trip, and everything else that’s happened recently?”

“Of course!” Dulcy said, her mood lighter than ever. “You see, first there were these three….”


End file.
